Single-anode mercury-arc rectifier



Jan. 21, 1947. B, STORSAND SINGLE ANODE MERCURY ARC'RECTIFIER Filed July28, 1945 Fig. 1

Patented Jan. 21, 1947 SIN GLE-AN ODE DIERCURY-ARC RECTIFIER BjarneStorsand, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon,

Zurich-Oerlikon,

Switzerland, a Swiss firm Application July 28, 1945, Serial No. 607,528

In Switzerland June 8, 1944 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a new and improved single-anodemercury-arc rectifier and more particularly to rectifiers of the saidtype with permanent excitation.

It is known that the condensed mercury which flows from the tank of asingle anode mercuryarc rectifier with permanent excitation may, in somecases, connect during a brief instant the tank with the cathode, causingthus the extinction of the auxiliary arc. The duration of thisconnection may be of a hundredth of a second or less. This will appearespecially after a rectifier has been a long time in operation, themercury being then somehow soiled.

The main object of the invention is to provide means to prevent thesedisturbances. According to the invention the said object is attained byputting a bafiie device on the return way of the mercury, the stream ofthe back-flowing mercury being divided into such little parts, that ashunting of the cathode insulation becomes impossible, even if themercury should be very soiled.

It would be of advantage if the baflle would serve at the same time as afilter. Normal filterrings have proved to be useful by multianoderectifiers, but they are not satisfactory for this purpose. On the otherhand, a filter-ring with many little catch chambers may be very useful.These catch chambers permit only a tiny quantity of mercury to flow-ofifrom each of them, thus preventing the formation of a long flash ofmercury, which would connect .the tank with the cathode.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred construction of the new deviceis shown by way of an example.

Fig. 1 shows part of a rectifier in sectional elevation.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section.

The new baiile device comprises within a tank 6 of a rectifier, a ring Irunning concentrically to the wall of the tank 6 at some small distanceapart. Between the wall of tank 6 and the ring I division walls areprovided dividing the annular space into a number of cells 2. For eachcell a channel 3 is provided in said ring I running tangentially to saidring. 4 denotes the cathode and 5 an insulating ring arranged be.

tween the cathode 5 and the wall of the tank 6.

It is preferable that the baffle device should not be fitted at theproximity of the cathode aperture, but near the wall of the tank 6, wellabove the cathode 4, in order that the speed of the mercury shall be ashigh as possible while it flows into the cathode 4. The channels 3provided in the cells 2 for the outlet of the mercury shall bepreferably so inclined that the mercury will flow nearly tangentially tothe oathode 4.

What I wish to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a single anode mercury arc rectifier, a tank having an uprightcircular wall and a, downwardly tapering bottom wall with a circularaperture therein closed by a cathode member, a ringshaped bafile withinsaid tank and uniformly spaced from the circular wall thereof andresting on said bottom wall, said ring-shaped baffle being provided withradially outwardly extending walls engaging the circular wall of saidtank, thereby dividing the annular space between said wall and saidring-shaped baffle into a series of individual cells, and channelsextending through said ring-shaped bafiie adapted to discharge anymercury collected in said cells and direct it toward the circularaperture in said bottom wall.

2. In a single anode mercury arc rectifier, a tank having an uprightcircular wall and a downwardly tapering bottom wall with a circularaperture therein closed by a cathode member, a ringshaped baflle withinsaid tank and uniformly spaced from the circular wall thereof andresting on said bottom wall, said ring-shaped bafile being provided withradially outwardly extending walls engaging the circular wall of saidtank, thereby dividing the annular space between said wall and saidring-shaped bafiie into a series of individual cells, and channelsextending through said ring-shaped bafiie and disposed substantiallytangentially with respect to the circular aperture in said bottom wall,said channels being adapted to discharge any mercury collected in saidcells and direct it toward the circular aperture in said bottom wall.

BJ ARN E STORSAND.

